Red peppers help reduce inflammation

Research has found that red peppers, particularly the Capsicum baccatum species, contain bioactive compounds that may be used to fight inflammation and treat inflammatory-related diseases. The study, published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, assessed the anti-inflammatory effects of red pepper extracts using both laboratory testing and clinical trials.

Researchers at the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (UFCSPA) and Catholic University Dom Bosco in Brazil used dichloromethane, butanol, and residual aqueous red pepper extracts for the study.

In the clinical trial, the researchers found that all red pepper extracts exhibited anti-inflammatory activity.

The red pepper extracts also effectively inhibited the neutrophil migration and paw edema in mice.

In addition, the pretreatment with red pepper extracts significantly decreased the levels of myeloperoxidase in the paw tissues of mice.